Casks & Quesos SF Beer Week 2016

Casks & Quesos at Thirsty Bear Brewing is one of my favorite events of SF Beer Week and I try to attend every year. It’s hard to find another event with so many creative and delicious beers on cask. The combination of great cask beer with high quality, amazing cheese and artisan bread makes for an excellent evening.

I made sure only to get a couple of ounces of each beer so that I could try all 17 at the event.

Beach Chalet Alt Bier

Dry-hopped with Tettanger & Hallertau Mittelfruh. Herbal, wet earth, black pepper, a little citrus zest. Clean, herbal bitterness. 3.5

Social Kitchen Mr. Kite

Light lemon juice aroma, fresh cut shrubbery, bay leaves, bread. Not too bitter, smooth bitterness, pomelo pith. A nice E-IPA. 3.75

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

Dry-hopped w/Cascade. Pine cone, citrus, floral. Clean, smooth bitterness. 3.5

Drakes Hopocalypse

Dry hopped with Simcoe, Mosaic, Chinook. Grassy, grapefruit, tropical fruit, pomelo, passion fruit, a hint of Asian pear, a little canned pineapple, floral. Spicy bitterness, harsh bitterness juxtaposed with malty sweetness. 4.25

Thirsty Bear 2015 Barleywine

Dry hopped with Centennial. Pine, douglas fir sap, light malt syrup, candied orange peel. Malty, sweet, and bitter. A lot like DIPA. 4.0

Faction A-Town Pale

Dry hopped with Citra. Fresh cooled herbs: sage, thyme, oregano. Fresh Xmas tree wreath. Grapefruit, grass. A decent amount of bitterness & not too sweet. 3.75

Thirsty Bear Bulldog British IPA

Dry-hopped with Challenger. Leather, old furniture, woody, dank. Bitter, not too sweet. 3.75

Speakeasy Milk Stout

With orange peel & cocoa nibs. Dark chocolate bar, orange, hint of coffee roasty. Roasted bitterness, sweet, a little herbal. 4.5

Hermitage Maltopia Scotch Ale

Dry-hopped with Citra. Pine, citrus, malt syrup. Sweet and not too bitter. 4.0

21A Funky Poomedina

Lemons, cloves, some banana, herbs, hibiscus. Dry, not sour. 3.0

Magnolia Sarah’s Ruby Mild

Malty, toasty, rye crackers, tomacco, leather. Malty & herbal. Classic. 4.0

Triple Voodoo Felicia Rye IPA

Grapefruit, pine, pine cone, grass. Dry and super bitter, harsh medicinal bitterness. 2.5

Cleophus Quealy Blood Orange Saison

Arugula, lemon, sour, fermented orange. Dusty. Fruity sourness. Like a mimosa without effervescence. Quite good. 4.0

Cellarmaker Hop Slang in IPA

Pomelo zest. Citrus, pomelo zest, grapefruit, pith. Pithy bitterness. Nice. 4.0

Marin Four Flowers Rye IPA

Dry-hopped with Columbia. Floral, pine, citrus, grapefruit pith. Malty, a little sweet, smooth bitterness, herbal. 4.25

Anchor Blood Orange Kettle Sour

Smells exactly like a fresh blood orange. Over-ripe orange, blood orange peel. Tart like fruity sourness. Very nice fruit beer. 4.75

Freewheel Revolution Scottish Ale

Malt, coffee, toffee, brown sugar, prunes, Dr. Pepper. Malty, sweet, roasty, herbal. 4.0